Normality
by RippedIntoPieces
Summary: Draco is fed up of Potter just allowing him to insult him. He's driven to discover what has happened to turn the Boy Wonder into such a wreck. They say it's cruel to be kind, but Draco's not sure whether he's just being cruel.


EDIT: After I sorta got a review making fun of a bit of the plot, which I agreed with, I omitted some lines. I hope it still makes sense.

**This was circling around in one of my many notebooks. I think I'm addicted to them, I have 6 and none of them are filled up! **

**Anyway, it's based on the time period between the MoM fight and Harry talking to Nearly Headless Nick and fighting Draco at the end of OoTP. I was going for grief, probably missed it but oh well. **

**It doesn't fit in with how Harry acts in TBP, so assume it's AU, or Harry forgets about it and gets hit on the head or something :)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. **

**RippedIntoPieces**

**Disclaimer: Owned by J.K. I claim nothing. Except that I don't have any claim on it.  
**

Draco wasn't sure how it had happened; how one day Potter was prepared to disembowel him for insulting his friends or his parents, and then the next day he just looked at Draco with dead, empty eyes and remained silent, allowing the insult to sink in gradually. With the Weasel and the Mudblood confined to the Hospital Wing, Potter made an easy target, however for the past week or so, the main challenge of the trio had merely moved on through the corridor like a ghost when Draco attempted to get a rise out of him. Draco had heard the rumours, of what had gone on inside the Department of Mysteries when Potter and his gang of miscreants went on their latest adventure, but Potter hadn't been committed for anything, so he doubted that anything serious had affected him.

Draco had heard Sirius Black had been killed within the Ministry, but that held no correlation with Potter's new personality change. Draco knew that Black was Potter's godfather, but wasn't there some bad blood between them? Didn't Black betray Potter's parents to the Dark Lord? Draco ran through various reasons as to why Black's death would affect Potter in his head as he watched in mild disgust as Potter traipsed out of sight, a morose expression still firmly on his face. Draco, as many had realised, didn't appreciate being ignored, and so when his favourite sparring partner suddenly decided he wasn't going to even bother replying to Draco's taunts, he resolved to do whatever he could to bring things back to normal, using whichever means possible.

O.o

Although Potions was one of Draco's best subjects, he was struggling with it at the current moment. This was mainly due to the fact that his attention was more on Potter than his potion. He kept glancing at Potter, and paid so little attention to his potion that at one point he barely noticed that he was trying to add powdered Gurdyroot; something guaranteed to set fire to the liquid within his potion, until Blaise placed a hand on his arm and brought his attention back to the task at hand. He was busy stirring his potion in alternate clockwise and anti clockwise turns when he heard the sharp, oily voice of Professor Snape.

'Potter! What on earth do you call this?' Snape snapped in Potter's face, startling the pale boy who looked up from his steaming cauldron.

'A hiccoughing solution Sir.' Potter said quietly, without the smug tone that was usually combined in his voice.

'How Potter, you have managed to struggle through Potions for the past 5 years without killing someone is a mystery to me. Look around the classroom Potter, and you may realise that your potion is supposed to be a dark navy colour, it isn't meant to be dark red, nor is it meant to be curdled at the bottom of the cauldron. I realise you are incompetent, but even an idiot like you can count. I assume you added too many pine cones to the mixture, a mistake I wouldn't even expect a five year old to make!' Snape hissed at the brunet, who took the brunt of the insults with a stoic disposition.

'Sorry sir, I'll begin again.' Harry said quietly, his voice dead and without the usual lack of respect, flicking his wand and vanishing the liquid bubbling inside it, before beginning to cut up new ingredients, oblivious to the astounded expression on Snape's sallow face. The elder man glanced at Harry, clearly waiting for the boy to come out with a conceited comment about Snape's treatment of him in class. When the comment didn't come, he turned and continued to berate the rest of the Gryffindor's. Draco watched Harry, admiring the concentration on his face, before Potter felt Draco's eyes burning into his back and he turned and scrutinised the blond for a moment, his deadened eyes staring into Draco's face. Draco raised his eyebrows and attempted to give his usual condescending smirk, Harry just looked back, eyes burning into Draco's with intense ferocity. Eventually Draco tore his gaze away and looked back down at his cauldron, quickly being made aware he was about to ruin the entire potion with a careless mistake. Righting himself, he cursed Potter for distracting him. Inside he cursed himself for caring in the first place that his nemesis had changed.

O.o

Crabbe and Goyle were no longer Draco's friends; having grown out of them very early on, he now merely used them as bodyguards and the two mindless goons never had anything to say against it, following orders without question no matter the consequences. But now his father had been sent to prison and was incarcerated in Azkaban he'd lost all respect from any of his peers, even Crabbe and Goyle. In his opinion, that was what was driving him to discover what was wrong with Potter; he had nothing to distract him. No First Years to terrorise, for they were used to his attacks by now, he had no friends to go to Hogsmeade with, he didn't really have friends to play chess with. He was lonely, not that he'd ever admit it, and he needed something to stop him from going insane. Following Potter about was killing two birds with one stone, it was a distraction, and it also gave him ample opportunity to find out what was wrong with Potter and spread the story across the entire school. He might be their saviour now he'd revealed the Dark Lord was really back, but not everyone was convinced he was completely normal. If the truth was horrific, then Draco would be able to completely destroy Potter.

He'd enjoy it too for that matter.

O.o

Draco watched Potter closely from the Slytherin table, ignoring the conversation of his peers especially since none of it pertained to him. He took note of the way Potter distanced himself from the others on the table and picked at food on his plate. Draco wasn't the only one who noticed, both Longbottom and the Weaslette tried to get him involved in the conversation, but Potter only gave them short answers to their questions, before bowing his head and continuing to pick at his food. Eventually, he stood up, ignoring the various calls of others beckoning him to sit back down and join them. Draco found it interesting and amusing that he understood Potter better than some of his own house did, he knew Potter hated hero worship, especially considering how he'd been treated the last year, even if they were his friends, they were trying too hard and pushing him away from them. As he saw Potter head for the doors of the Great Hall, he quickly stood up and followed the other boy out the door, eager to provoke a response from the practically catatonic boy.

"Oi, Scarhead, are you off to cry with Moaning Myrtle?" He jeered as Potter walked down the corridor, who stopped and turned, sighing and glaring witheringly at Draco.

"Even if I was, why would you be so interested Malfoy?" Potter asked tiredly, his voice displaying his lack of concern in Draco's answer. It was another change, usually Potter would snap and say something like "Shut it Malfoy," or he'd reply with some slight of his own.

"Well Potter, I was looking for a spot of light afternoon entertainment, and watching the precious Golden Boy wail about how hard his life is would be ideal." Draco said wickedly, his typical smirk bared and his eyes wide, "At the current point I'm not very happy with you Potter; you've landed my father in prison and taken my inquisitorial badge from me. All in all, I think I deserve to be a witness to your misery. Missing the dog are you?" Finally, Draco saw some emotion in Potter's eyes, a flicker of pain shone through, but the boy quickly went back to the blank mask he'd adopted.

"You're more pathetic than even I thought you were Malfoy. Go terrorise someone else, I'm leaving." And with that, Potter turned around and left Draco alone in the corridor.

O.o

Another week passed, and Draco discovered that Potter was spending an awful lot of time with the strange blonde girl in Ravenclaw – Lovegood or something. Draco couldn't understand why Potter managed to put up with idiots all the time, and yet ignored Draco whenever he got the chance. Some people just don't know class when they see it. Perhaps it had something to do with Potter's obsession with nobility, and "doing the right thing". Draco could never see the interest in being nice all the time, really, why bother? If there were no benefits to the situation then why would anyone bother? Idiotic Gryffindors, always feeling the urge to do the "right" thing. Slytherin was the better house, not so obsessed with being nice all the time, more likely to go after things for _personal _gain.

It seemed that even Lovegood couldn't pull Potter from this rut he was in, he still wandered around the school in a ghostlike fashion, still ignored Draco's taunts, and Draco had heard a rumour that he'd thought briefly about jumping in the lake. Rumours were fickle things, and Draco couldn't see Potter doing anything as selfish as killing himself. Still, he did spend a lot of time by the lakeside, so it was best to keep an eye out.

It was already summer, and whatever homework Draco was set he decided to complete outside, under the pretence of enjoying the weather, but really so he could watch the lone figure sitting at the bank of the lake, his gaze unwavering. To see someone who was usually so social permanently on his own was an odd contrast, and Draco was adverse to change, even if it involved someone he hated. Draco was incredibly frustrated, partially by the fact that he hadn't properly fought with Potter for weeks, and they were a constant in a world soon to be destroyed by the Dark Lord. He wanted Potter to fight him instead of taking the moral high ground. He wanted him to fracture and shatter the image of the Golden Boy which was now displayed by the Daily Prophet by fighting him. Fighting Draco meant Potter wasn't perfect, and that put them on more even ground because it proved that Potter was not flawless.

Draco was busy watching Potter afar, sitting in the hollow of the tree he often chose to do homework in, when he realised the folly with his actions. The boy was sitting in his normal place, staring across the lake as the sun set behind the mountains, casting everything in a ruby glow. A chill settled in Draco's bones, and he decided to warm himself up by trying once more to elicit a response from Potter. When he saw the tear tracks on Potter's face, as the younger boy wiped his face frantically he decided perhaps now was not the best time to fight him. In front of a large crowd, maybe, where he wouldn't be able to just walk away from Draco. He ignored the snide voice in the back of his head which suggested he cared for Potter's welfare, and refrained from tormenting him because he was going soft and didn't want to hurt the other boy's feelings.

O.o

It was again in Potions that Draco finally made some headway with Potter. It would seem even Snape was mildly concerned with Potter's behaviour, keeping a closer eye on the boy than normal. Potter was oblivious to the stares of both of them, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the blackboard. It was only when Longbottom managed to melt yet another cauldron that Draco had the perfect opportunity to antagonise Potter.

"Hey Potter," Draco said in a carrying whisper, instantly attracting Potter's attention, "Did I see you crying over that dead mutt of yours last night?" He smirked when Potter's face went slightly ashen in colour and he clenched his knuckles against the edge of the desk, "I heard that you were the one who got him killed. Is that true Potter? Is it your fault?" He took on a babyish tone he'd adopted from his aunt Bellatrix, "Did you kill Black, Potter? I bet you did, it seems everyone dies for you don't they? Your father, that stupid mutt, even your dear little Mudblood mother. I wonder who's next." Suddenly a vial to Draco's right exploded and shattered glass all over his desk; Draco's smirk instantly disappeared from his face and he stepped slightly away from the shaking Potter.

"Please Malfoy, shut up." Potter choked out, "I don't want to hurt you." Draco nodded in agreement, remaining silent for the rest of the lesson, and watching unmoving as Potter sped out of class as soon as the bell rang.

O.o

Draco didn't bother with dinner, heading directly to the darkened silhouette he could see out the window of the second floor corridor. As he made his way up to Potter, he thought about what he could say to the boy as a way of apology. In the end, he came up blank, and he just sat down next to Potter.

"What do you want Malfoy? I'm not in the mood for you to be a shitty little git frankly." Potter snapped instantly, as soon as he saw who was beside him.

"I see you're back then." Malfoy said, ignoring Potter's comment. The dark haired boy opened his eyes widely, confusing showing across his face.

"Back?" He asked in a strained voice,

"Yes, you haven't been yourself these past few weeks. But judging by your greeting you're back to normal, which is both a nuisance and a reassurance." Draco replied honestly, ignoring the odd look Potter gave him.

"Is this why you've been trying to get a rise out of me more than usual? Because I was acting oddly?" Potter said in an incredulous tone,

"Yes. I was getting very bored without you there to tell me what a horrible person I am."

"Well thank Merlin I'm back to keep you entertained Malfoy." Potter deadpanned, clearly irritated. He sighed, looking at Draco again, "At least you're still the same self involved git. Everyone else is acting completely different; you were quite refreshing to say the least. Not that I was expecting you to start worshipping me anyway."

"Self involved gits change for no-one Potter. You should know, you're one too." Draco replied dryly, amazed that Potter laughed at his comment. They sat in silence, watching a tawny owl fly overhead, heading for the Owlery. Draco broke the silence,

"I'm sorry, about your godfather by the way." Potter started, looking at Draco like he was mad, before pausing and replying.

"I'm sorry about your father then." He said in a quiet voice. Draco nodded, happy to hear it.

"I suppose it's back to normal tomorrow?"

"Yes, you and I hate one another. One little chat won't change anything." Harry said earnestly, nodding decisively, Draco silently agreed, and they sat in silence and watched the sun set.

O.o

"You're dead Potter." Draco said in a voice full of malice, once again flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Funny," Harry said with raised eyebrows, "You'd think I'd have stopped walking around." Draco's nostrils flared with anger, and he went for his wand, remembering how much he hated the Potter that acted this way.

At least things were back to normal.


End file.
